Leonid Sarafanov

Principal Dancer of the Mikhailovsky Theater

Dance Open: 2015, 2018

Graduated from the Kiev State Ballet School in 2000, the same year became a soloist with National Ballet of Ukraine. After he won at the IX International Ballet Dancers Competition in Moscow (2001) he was invited to work at the Bolshoi Theater and Royal Ballet, but decided to join the Mariinsky ballet company, where he danced for 10 years before leaving to the Mikhailovsky Theater. Leonid Sarafanov is not only hereditary, but also a natural born dancer. His repertoire includes all classical ballet parts. His “princes” have their own lustrous personalities, combined with the precise technique: “To give the princes life, and to arise fresh feelings, you need to forget them a bit, and dance something completely different. It gives new energy, allows to find something unexpected even in “Swan Lake”, — says Leonid.